Banknote sorting and bundling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus ( 1 ) includes a banknote processing device ( 2 ) including a stacker ( 16 ), and a banknote bundling device ( 3 ) including a bundling unit ( 22 ) and a bundling-side stacking unit ( 21 ). The apparatus ( 1 ) further includes a banknote transport unit ( 13 ) that transports a banknote deposited in a hopper unit ( 11 ) through a banknote transport path ( 18 ) including a first transport path ( 18 A), a second transport path ( 18 B), and a third transport path ( 18 C), a diverting unit ( 13 A) for diverting the banknote being transported through the banknote transport path ( 18 ) to the stacker ( 16 ) or the bundling-side stacking unit ( 21 ), and a post-bundling transport unit ( 26 ) for dispensing a bundle of banknotes bundled by the bundling unit ( 22 ) to a bundle dispensing outlet ( 23 ) provided near the hopper unit ( 11 ). When one hundred bundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit ( 21 ) have been bundled, the post-bundling transport unit  26  dispenses the bundle to the banknote dispensing outlet ( 23 ) provided near the hopper unit ( 11 ). Consequently, work efficiency of an operator is improved.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a banknote sorting and bundlingapparatus that has a banknote sorting and stacking function for sortingand stacking banknotes, deposited in continuous deposit transactions, bydenomination, and a banknote bundling function for bundling banknotes ofa specific denomination into bundles of a predetermined number ofbanknotes.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, banknote sorting and bundling apparatuses that have asorting and stacking function for sorting and stacking banknotes,deposited in continuous deposit transactions, by denomination, and abanknote bundling function for bundling banknotes of a specificdenomination into bundles of a predetermined number of banknotes are inwidespread use.

A conventional banknote sorting and bundling apparatus known to theinventor (for example, see Patent Documents 1 to 4) includes a pluralityof stackers for sorting and stacking the banknotes by denomination, abundling-side stacking unit for sorting and stackingbundling-object-banknotes by specific denomination, and a bundling unitfor bundling the bundling-object-banknotes when a predetermined numberof banknotes are stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit. A bundle ofbanknotes bundled by the bundling unit is dispensed from a bundledispensing outlet.

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1includes four stackers and one bundling-side stacking unit; a banknotesorting and bundling apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 includessix stackers and one bundling-side stacking unit; and a banknote sortingand bundling apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3 includes sixstackers and two bundling-side stacking units.

In the banknote sorting and bundling apparatuses disclosed in PatentDocuments 1 to 3, the bundle dispensing outlet, from where the bundle ofbanknotes bundled by the bundling unit is dispensed, is located at aposition distantly from a hopper unit where banknotes of mixeddenominations are deposited.

In the conventional banknote sorting and bundling apparatuses mentionedabove, because the hopper unit where the banknotes are deposited and thebundle dispensing outlet from where the bundle of banknotes bundled bythe bundling unit is dispensed are located distantly from each other,work efficiency of an operator is low.

From this viewpoint, in a banknote sorting and bundling apparatusdisclosed in Patent Document 4, a layout is proposed to improve the workefficiency of the operator by interconnecting a plurality of units sothat the system overall has a U shape configuration and the hopper unitand the bundle dispensing outlet are located closer to each other.

-   [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 2886554-   [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.    2002-137862-   [Patent Document 3] U.S. Patent Application Laid-open No.    2008/0060906-   [Patent Document 4] U.S. Patent Application Laid-open No.    2008/0006505

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

However, in the conventional banknote sorting and bundling apparatusmentioned above, many structures are required to be added to arrange thehopper unit and the bundle dispensing outlet closer to each other,leading to increased cost of the whole apparatus. In addition, moreinstallation space is required to accommodate the apparatus due to thelarger size of the apparatus.

The present invention is made in view of the above discussion and it isan object of the present invention to provide a banknote sorting andbundling apparatus that significantly improves the work efficiency ofthe operator while greatly suppressing an increase in a cost and aninstallation space of the whole apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problem

To achieve the above objects, a banknote sorting and bundling apparatusaccording to an aspect of the present invention includes a sorting andstacking unit in which a banknote deposited in an input port is sortedand stacked; a bundling-side stacking unit in which a predeterminedbanknote is sorted and stacked as bundling-object-banknotes; a bundlingunit that bundles the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in thebundling-side stacking unit; a banknote transport unit that transportsthe banknote deposited in the input port through a banknote transportpath that includes a first transport path that is connected to the inputport and that passes above the sorting and stacking unit, a secondtransport path that is connected to the first transport path and thatbends back in an arrangement direction of the sorting and stacking unit,and a third transport path that is connected to the second transportpath and that connects the sorting and stacking unit and thebundling-side stacking unit; a diverting unit that diverts the banknotebeing transported through the banknote transport path to at least thesorting or stacking unit and the bundling-side stacking unit; a bundletransport unit that dispenses a bundle of banknotes bundled by thebundling unit to a bundle dispensing outlet arranged near the inputport; and a drive control unit that drive controls the banknotetransport unit, the diverting unit, and the bundle transport unit.

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to another aspect ofthe present invention includes, in the structure according to the aboveaspect, a banknote recognition unit that recognizes a kind of thebanknote being transported on the first transport path; a first rejectunit arranged on the first transport path; and a second reject unitarranged at a far end of the third transport path. Upon detecting afirst specific banknote on the first transport path, the drive controlunit controls the banknote transport unit and the diverting unit so thatthe first specific banknote is transported to the first reject unit.Upon detecting a second specific banknote on the second transport pathor the third transport path, the drive control unit controls thebanknote transport unit and the diverting unit so that the secondspecific banknote is transported to the second reject unit.

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to another aspect ofthe present invention includes, in the structure according to the aboveaspect, a face reversing unit that is arranged on the second transportpath and that reverses the banknote being transported so that a specificface, either a front face or a back face, of the banknote faces up.

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to another aspect ofthe present invention includes, in the structure according to the aboveaspect, an arrangement connecting a plurality of banknote bundlingdevices can be achieved. Each of the banknote bundling devices includesthe bundling unit, the bundling-side stacking unit, and the bundletransport unit. The drive control unit controls the banknote transportunit and the diverting unit so that the banknotes are sorted and stackedin the bundling-side stacking unit, corresponding to the banknote, ofthe banknote bundling devices through the third transport path.

In a banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to another aspectof the present invention, in the structure according to the aboveaspect, the bundling unit is arranged below the bundling-side stackingunit. The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus further includes apre-bundling transport unit that transports a predetermined number ofthe bundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unitto the bundling unit. When the number of the bundling-object-banknotesstacked in the bundling-side stacking unit reaches the predeterminednumber, the drive control unit controls the pre-bundling transport unitso that the predetermined number of the bundling-object-banknotesstacked in the bundling-side stacking unit is transported to thebundling unit.

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to another aspect ofthe present invention includes, in the structure according to the aboveaspect, a banknote recognition unit that recognizes a kind of thebanknote being transported on the first transport path; a first rejectunit arranged on the first transport path; a second reject unit that isarranged at a far end of the third transport path; and an errordetecting unit that detects a transportation error of the banknotedownstream of the first reject unit. When the transportation error ofthe banknote is detected by the error detecting unit, the drive controlunit drive controls the banknote transport unit and the diverting unitso that the banknote that is on the second transport path and the thirdtransport path is transported to the second reject unit.

In a banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to another aspectof the present invention, in the structure according to the aboveaspect, the bundling-side stacking unit includes two operationalbundling-side stacking units for each of which a kind of stackingbanknote is set in advance and one spare bundling-side stacking unit forwhich no kind of stacking banknote is set. The drive control unitcontrols the banknote transport unit and the diverting unit so that whenthe number of the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in one operationalbundling-side stacking unit reaches a predetermined number, thebanknote-kind, that was set for the bundling-side stacking unit in whichthe number of the bundling-object-banknotes has reached thepredetermined number, is set as the stacking banknote-kind of the sparebundling-side stacking unit, and the operational bundling-side stackingunit in which the number of bundling-object-banknotes has reached thepredetermined number is set as a spare bundling-side stacking unit, andthe banknotes of the banknote-kind that has reached the predeterminednumber are subsequently stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit forwhich the banknote-kind is set.

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to another aspect ofthe present invention includes, in the structure according to the aboveaspect, four sorting and stacking units, three bundling-side stackingunits, and one bundling unit.

Advantages of the Invention

According to an aspect of the present invention, a banknote sorting andbundling apparatus includes a banknote transport path that includes afirst transport path that is connected to an input port and that passesabove a sorting and stacking unit, a second transport path that isconnected to the first transport path and that bends back in anarrangement direction of the sorting and stacking unit, and a thirdtransport path that is connected to the second transport path and thatconnects the sorting and stacking unit and a bundling-side stackingunit. A bundle transport unit dispenses a bundle of banknotes bundled bya bundling unit to a bundle dispensing outlet arranged near the inputport. Consequently, compared with the conventional technology, a layoutis realized by which so that the hopper unit is located centrally andthe bundle dispensing outlet can be accessed by an operator at theposition for the hopper unit without having to move from the positionwhile greatly suppressing an increase in a cost and an installationspace of the whole apparatus. Thus, because an operator can access thebundle dispensing outlet without having to move from the position forthe input port, work efficiency of the operator is significantlyimproved.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus, a banknote recognition unit and a firstreject unit are arranged on the first transport path, and a secondreject unit is arranged at a far end of the third transport path.Consequently, there is an advantage in addition to the above advantagein that, when a first specific banknote is detected on the firsttransport path, the first specific banknote is transported to the firstreject unit, and when a second specific banknote is detected on thesecond transport path or the third transport path, the second specificbanknote is transported to the second reject unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus according to the present invention, aface reversing unit that reverses the banknote being transported so thata specific face, that is a front face or a back face, faces up, isarranged on the second transport path. Consequently, there is anadvantage in addition to the above advantages in that the banknotes aretransported in a state all the banknotes face in the same specificdirection.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus, connecting a plurality of banknotebundling devices, each of the banknote bundling device including thebundling unit, the bundling-side stacking unit, and the bundle transportunit, is enabled, and a drive control of a banknote transport unit and adiverting unit is performed so that the banknotes are sorted and stackedin each of the bundling-side stacking unit, corresponding to thebanknote, of the banknote bundling devices through the third transportpath. Consequently, there is an advantage in addition to the aboveadvantages in that a plurality of the banknote bundling devices can beadditionally provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus, there is an advantage in addition to theabove advantages in that, when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unitreaches a predetermined number, the bundling-object-banknotes aretransported to the bundling unit by a pre-bundling transport unit, andafter the bundling-object-banknotes are bundled by the bundling unit,the bundle of banknotes is transported to the bundle dispensing outletby the bundle transport unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus according to the present invention, thebanknote recognition unit and the first reject unit are arranged on thefirst transport path, and the second reject unit is arranged at the farend of the third transport path. When a transport error of the banknoteis detected downstream of the first reject unit, the banknote on thesecond transport path or the third transport path is transported to thesecond reject unit. Consequently, there is an advantage in addition tothe above advantages in that, even if the transport error of thebanknote is detected on the second transport path or the third transportpath, the banknote can be removed from the second reject unit arrangedat the far end of the third transport path without having to stop theoperation. Thus, the operation availability of the apparatus isimproved.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus, the bundling-side stacking unit includestwo operational bundling-side stacking units for each of which astacking banknote-kind is set and one spare bundling-side stacking unitfor which no stacking banknote-kind is set. When the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in one operational bundling-sidestacking unit reaches a predetermined number, a banknote-kind that wasset for the bundling-side stacking unit in which the number of thebundling-object-banknotes has reached the predetermined number is set asthe stacking banknote-kind for the spare bundling-side stacking unit,and the operational bundling-side stacking unit in which the number ofthe bundling-object-banknotes has reached the predetermined number isset as a spare bundling-side stacking unit. Consequently, there is anadvantage in addition to the above advantages in that the banknote ofthe banknote-kind that has reached the predetermined number issubsequently stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit to which thebanknote-kind is set without having to stop the stacking operation.Consequently, a situation, where when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in one bundling-side stacking unitreaches the predetermined number, no free stacking unit is available forstacking the subsequent banknotes of the concerned banknote-kind, can bereliably avoided while keeping the number of the bundling-side stackingunits to the minimum (three) in the banknote bundling device. Inaddition, operation availability of the apparatus is improved.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in addition to theabove advantages, the banknote sorting and bundling apparatus can beadapted to a system with four sorting and stacking units, threebundling-side stacking units, and one bundling unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for clearly showing an outer appearance ofa banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an internal structure of the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a drawing for clearly explaining a reversing process performedby a banknote reversing unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a structure of a bundling-sidestacking unit.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the bundling-side stacking unit with a portionthereof omitted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an internal structure of thebanknote sorting and bundling apparatus.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are drawings for clearly explaining action transitions ofa dimension adjusting mechanism of the bundling-side stacking unit.

FIGS. 8A to 8D are drawings for clearly explaining action transitions ofa pre-bundling transport unit.

FIGS. 9A to 9K are drawings for clearly explaining action transitions ofa dispensing transport unit of a post-bundling transport unit.

FIG. 10 is a drawing for clearly explaining a workability of an operatorof the banknote sorting and bundling apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing of an internal structure of a banknotesorting and bundling apparatus according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is a drawing for clearly explaining reversing processesperformed by a short-edge reversing unit and a long-edge reversing unit.

EXPLANATIONS OF LETTERS OR NUMERALS

-   1: Banknote sorting and bundling apparatus-   1A: Banknote sorting and bundling apparatus-   2: Banknote processing device-   3: Banknote bundling device-   11: Hopper unit-   13: Banknote transport unit-   15: Banknote reversing unit-   15B: Short-edge reversing unit-   15C: Long-edge reversing unit-   16: Stacker-   17: First reject unit-   18: Banknote transport path-   18A: First transport path-   18B: Second transport path-   18C: Third transport path-   20: Second reject unit-   20B: Second reject unit-   21: Bundling-side stacking unit-   22: Bundling unit-   23: Bundle dispensing outlet-   25: Pre-bundling transport unit-   26: Post-bundling transport unit-   150: Drive control unit

BEST MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of a banknote sorting and bundling apparatusaccording to the present invention are explained below in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

An overview of an embodiment according to the present invention isexplained first. The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus includesstackers for sorting and stacking banknotes deposited from a hopperunit, a bundling-side stacking unit for sorting and stackingpredetermined banknotes as bundling-object-banknotes, and a bundlingunit for bundling one hundred bundling-object-banknotes that are stackedin the bundling-side stacking unit. The banknote sorting and bundlingapparatus further includes a banknote transport unit that transportsbanknotes deposited into an input port to a banknote transport path. Thetransport path includes a first transport path that is connected to thehopper unit and that passes above the stackers, a second transport paththat is connected to the first transport path and that bends back in anarrangement direction of the stackers, and a third transport path thatis connected to the second transport path, the stackers and thebundling-side stacking unit. The banknote sorting and bundling apparatusfurther includes a diverting unit that diverts the banknote transportedthrough the banknote transport path to at least the stackers or thebundling-side stacking unit, a post-bundling transport unit thatdispenses a bundle of banknotes bundled by the bundling unit to thebundle dispensing outlet located near the hopper unit, and a drivecontrol unit that controls the banknote transport unit, the divertingunit, and the post-bundling transport unit.

When one hundred bundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-sidestacking unit are bundled, the banknote sorting and bundling apparatusdispenses the bundle of banknotes from the bundle dispensing outletlocated near the hopper unit.

Consequently, in the present embodiment, while greatly reducing a costand an installation space of the whole apparatus compared with theconventional technology, a layout is realized so that the hopper unit islocated centrally and the bundle dispensing outlet can be accessed by anoperator at the position for the hopper unit without having to move fromthe position. Thus, work efficiency of the operator is significantlyimproved.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for clearly showing an appearance of abanknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to a first embodimentof the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an internalstructure of the banknote sorting and bundling apparatus.

A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1 includes a banknoteprocessing device 2, a banknote bundling device 3, and a display device4. The banknote processing device 2 accepts continuous deposits ofbanknotes in transaction as well, sorts and stacks the depositedbanknotes by banknote-kind, and counts the deposited number of banknotesby banknote-kind. The banknote bundling device 3 bundles a predeterminednumber of banknotes, for example, every one hundred banknotes, of aspecific denomination sorted by the banknote processing device 2, andthe display device 4 displays various information such as a countresult.

The banknote processing device 2 includes a hopper unit 11 fordepositing banknotes in transaction into the apparatus, a feeding unit12 that feeds the banknotes, one by one, deposited in the hopper unit11, a banknote transport unit 13, such as a transport belt, thattransports the banknotes fed by the feeding unit 12, a banknoterecognition unit 14 that recognizes the kind of the banknote transportedby the banknote transport unit 13, and a banknote reversing unit 15 thatreverses the banknote transported by the banknote transport unit 13based on face/back information obtained from the banknote recognitionunit 14 so that all the banknotes face in the same direction, eitherface-up or face-down.

The banknote processing device 2 further includes four stackers 16 forsorting and stacking the banknotes transported by the banknote transportunit 13 according to kind of the banknote, and two first reject units 17for rejecting the banknotes that are not the banknote-kind correspondingto the stackers 16 and the banknote bundling device 3. A stacking wheel16E (17C) that stacks the banknote that is being transported, one at atime, at a predetermined position in a banknote stacking space, isarranged in each of the stackers 16 and the first reject units 17.

The four stackers 16 for sorting and stacking the transported banknotesbased on kind of banknote are a first stacker 16A, a second stacker 16B,a third stacker 16C, and a fourth stacker 16D. The term banknote-kindrefers to, if Euro is taken as an example, the seven denominations ofEuro, namely, 5 Euro banknote, 10 Euro banknote, 20 Euro banknote, 50Euro banknote, 100 Euro banknote, 200 Euro banknote, and 500 Eurobanknote, as well as authentication, fitness, and face/back, etc. foreach denomination.

The banknote bundling device 3 includes the banknote transport unit 13that transports the banknote of the specific denomination from abanknote transport path 18 (a third transport path 18C explained later)inside the banknote processing device 2 into the banknote bundlingdevice 3, three bundling-side stacking units 21 that are arranged atthree levels in a vertical direction inside the banknote bundling device3 for sorting and stacking the transported banknotes of the specificdenomination, and a bundling unit 22 that is arranged below the threebundling-side stacking units 21 for bundling thebundling-object-banknotes sorted and stacked in the bundling-sidestacking unit 21 when the number of bundling-object-banknotes reaches apredetermined number, for example, one hundred.

The banknote bundling device 3 further includes a bundle dispensingoutlet 23 that is located near the hopper unit 11 and that dispenses thebanknotes bundled by the bundling unit 22, that is the bundle ofbanknotes, so that the operator can collect them, and a loose-banknotesreturning outlet 24 that is located near the bundling-side stacking unit21 and that dispenses loose banknotes stacked in the bundling-sidestacking unit 21 at the end of a transaction so that the operator cancollect them.

The banknote bundling device 3 further includes a pre-bundling transportunit 25 that transports the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in thebundling-side stacking unit 21 to the bundling unit 22 or theloose-banknotes returning outlet 24, and a post-bundling transport unit26 that transports the bundle of banknotes bundled by the bundling unit22 to the bundle dispensing outlet 23.

The pre-bundling transport unit 25 holds one hundredbundling-object-banknotes from among the bundling-object-banknotesstacked in the bundling-side stacking units 21, and transports the onehundred bundling-object-banknotes to the bundling unit 22, and inaddition, at the end of the transaction, holds the loose banknotes whosenumber does not reach one hundred among the bundling-object-banknotesstacked in the bundling-side stacking units 21 and transports the loosebanknotes to the loose-banknotes returning outlet 24.

The post-bundling transport unit 26 includes a hold and transport unit27 that holds and transports the bundle of banknotes bundled by thebundling unit 22, and a dispensing transport unit 28 that transports thebundle of banknotes held and transported by the hold and transport unit27 to the bundle dispensing outlet 23.

The dispensing transport unit 28 includes a bundled-banknotes liftingunit 61 that transports the bundle of banknotes held and transported bythe hold and transport unit 27 to an upper part of the banknote bundlingdevice 3, a pushing mechanism 62 that pushes the bundle of banknotestransported to the upper part of the banknote bundling device 3 by thebundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 towards the bundle dispensing outlet23 (towards a front side of the apparatus), and a dispense/holdmechanism 63 that receives the bundle of banknotes pushed to the frontside of the apparatus by the pushing mechanism 62 and holds the bundleof banknotes at the position of the bundle dispensing outlet 23 fordispensing the bundle of banknotes.

The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1 further includes thebanknote transport path 18 that includes a first transport path 18A thatis connected to the hopper unit 11 and that is arranged above thestackers 16, a second transport path 18B that is connected to the firsttransport path 18A and that bends back in an arrangement direction ofthe stackers 16, and the third transport path 18C that is connected tothe second transport path 18B, the stackers 16, and the bundling-sidestacking unit 21. The banknote recognition unit 14 is arranged on thefirst transport path 18A and the banknote reversing unit 15 is arrangedon the second transport path 18B. The second transport path 18B isconfigured as a removable unit that connects the first transport path18A and the third transport path 18C of the banknote sorting andbundling apparatus 1.

On the banknote transport path 18, a detection sensors 19 for detectingapproaches or passes of banknotes at each branching point, mergingpoint, and linkage point between the devices are arranged at each of theabove-mentioned points on the banknote transport path 18.

A second reject unit 20 is arranged at the end of the third transportpath 18C. A banknote aligner wheel 20A that stacks the transportedbanknote, one at a time, at a predetermined position in a banknotestacking space is arranged in the second reject unit 20.

A diverting unit 13A is arranged at each of the branching points on thebanknote transport path 18. The diverting unit 13A diverts the banknotetransported through the banknote transport path 18 to the stackers 16,the bundling-side stacking unit 21, the first reject units 17 or thesecond reject unit 20. The diverting unit 13A is driven by a not shownsolenoid when the detection sensor 19 detects an approach of a leadingedge of the banknote, and performs the diverting of the banknote.

The banknote reversing unit 15 diverts the banknote, based on theface/back information obtained from the banknote recognition unit 14,into a reversing route or a non-reversing route by the diverting unit13A that is arranged upstream of the banknote reversing unit 15 so thatall the banknotes are transported through the third transport path 18Cwith faces in the same direction, either face-up or face-down. Thereversing route includes a reversing member 15A that has a curvedsurface and that extends along a transport direction of the banknote, anot shown transport belt that is winded obliquely relative to alongitudinal direction of the reversing member 15A with a part of thetransport belt running along the curved surface of the reversing member15A, a not shown driving motor that drives the transport belt, and a notshown guide unit guiding the banknote while the banknote is transported,in the longitudinal direction of the reversing member 15A, in the stateof being wrapped around the curved surface of the reversing member 15Aand is held between the transport belt and the reversing member 15A (seeJapanese Patent No. 4119664).

In the banknote reversing unit 15, when the transport belt is beingdriven by the driving motor, the banknote moves in the transportdirection as the transport belt moves while the banknote is being heldbetween the transport belt and the reversing member 15A. Because thetransport belt is winded obliquely relative to the longitudinaldirection of the reversing member 15A, the banknote is transported inthe state of being wrapped around the curved surface and is reversedduring the transport. During the reversing of the banknote, the guideunit ensures that the banknote is reversed properly by restricting amovement of the banknote and guiding so that the banknote is slid on thesurface of the guide unit.

FIG. 3 is a drawing for clearly explaining a reversing process performedby the banknote reversing unit 15.

When transporting the banknote that is in a state A, shown in FIG. 3, tothe third transport path 18C, the banknote reversing unit 15 transportsthe banknote in the unaltered state A via the non-reversing route,without performing the reversing process.

However, when transporting the banknote that is in a state B, shown inFIG. 3, to the third transport path 18C, the banknote reversing unit 15transports the banknote via the reversing route and performs thereversing process to reverse the banknote so that the banknote is in thestate A, and then transports the banknote to the third transport path18C.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a structure of thebundling-side stacking unit 21. FIG. 5 is a plan view of thebundling-side stacking unit 21 with a portion thereof omitted.

The bundling-side stacking unit 21 includes a stage member 32, banknotealigner wheels 33, approach detecting sensors 34, and a dimensionadjusting mechanism 35. The stage member 32 on which the banknotes arestacked is arranged in a stacking space 31 formed by left side and rightside walls 31A and a back side wall 31B, and can be moved up and down.The banknote aligner wheels 33 stack the banknote that is transported inthe stacking space 31, and adjust a position of the stacked banknotes.The approach detecting sensors 34 detect an approach of the banknotebeing transported into the stacking space 31. The dimension adjustingmechanism 35 adjusts the stacking space 31 according to dimensions thatis set for a banknote to be stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit21. To maintain a constant position of the banknote stacked topmost, inthe height direction of the stacked banknotes, the stage member 32 isgradually lowered as the banknotes are stacked.

The dimension adjusting mechanism 35 includes a banknote aligningmechanism 36 and a short-edge dimension adjusting mechanism 37 (notshown). The banknote aligning mechanism 36 adjusts a position of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the stacking space 31 in alongitudinal direction according to the dimensions set for the banknoteto be stacked therein. The short-edge dimension adjusting mechanism 37adjusts a short-edge dimension of the stacking space 31 according to thedimensions set for the banknote to be stacked therein.

The banknote aligning mechanism 36 includes left and right arm units 36Athat are swingably arranged at the end portion of each of the left sideand right side walls 31A and swing toward a direction Y inside thestacking space 31, and stepping motors 36B that swing the left and rightarm units 36A to the set positions according to the set banknote. Thebanknote aligning mechanism 36 adjusts the position of the stackedbanknotes in the longitudinal direction by tapping the side edges of thestacked banknotes stacked on the stage member 32 in the stacking space31 with free ends of the left and right arm units 36A that have beenswung to the set swing position according to the set banknote.

The short-edge dimension adjusting mechanism 37 enables movement of theback side wall 31B of the stacking space 31 in front-back direction X ofbanknote transportation, and adjusts the short-edge dimension of thestacking space 31 according to the short-edge dimension set for thebanknote to be stacked in the stacking space 31.

Three openings 31C are provided into the back side wall 31B to allow ahand unit 41 (see FIG. 2) of the pre-bundling transport unit 25 toadvance into the stacking space 31 and hold thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the stacking space 31. A shuttermechanism that can be opened and closed is provided below the back sidewall 31B to allow the hand unit 41 to pull out thebundling-object-banknotes from the stacking space 31.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pre-bundling transport unit 25 includes atransport unit 42 that has the hand unit 41 that holds a banknote bundlestacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21, a horizontal movementmechanism 43 that moves the transport unit 42 forward and backward(horizontal direction), and a vertical movement mechanism 44 that movesthe transport unit 42 upward and downward (vertical direction).

The vertical movement mechanism 44 includes a guiding shaft 44A that isvertically placed and that extends from a bottom end to a top end of thebanknote bundling device 3, and a driving belt 44B that raises andlowers the transport unit 42 along the guiding shaft 44A.

The transport unit 42 arranged in the pre-bundling transport unit 25includes the hand unit 41 that can be moved forward and backward by adriving belt 43A arranged in the horizontal movement mechanism 43. Thehand unit 41 includes an upper hand 41A with three holding pawls and alower hand 41B with three holding pawls facing each other and holds thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21with the opposing sets of holding pawls. The lower hand 41B is fixedwhereas the upper hand 41A is movable up and down by a driving belt 41C.

The transport unit 42 holds the bundling-object-banknotes with theopposing holding pawls of the upper hand 41A and the lower hand 41B, andtransports the bundling-object-banknotes to the bundling unit 22 or tothe loose-banknotes returning outlet 24.

When one hundred bundling-object-banknotes are transported to thebundling unit 22 by the transport unit 42 of the pre-bundling transportunit 25, the bundling unit 22 holds the bundling-object-banknotes withthe hold and transport unit 27 of the post-bundling transport unit 26and binds the one hundred bundling-object-banknotes with a bundling tapeto bundle the bundling-object-banknotes.

The bundling unit 22, that makes the bundle of banknotes by bundling thebundling-object-banknotes with the bundling tape, includes a bundlingtape reel 51 on which the bundling tape is winded, a bundling tapestopper 52 that stops a leading edge of the bundling tape being drawnfrom the bundling tape reel 51 at a predetermined position on thebundling-object-banknotes held by the hold and transport unit 27, aswinging arm 53 that draws the bundling tape of which the leading edgehas been stopped at the predetermined position on thebundling-object-banknotes and wraps the bundling tape around thebundling-object-banknotes at a predetermined bundling position, a cutter54 that cuts the other end of the bundling tape after thebundling-object-banknotes have been wrapped at the predeterminedbundling position, and a heater 55 that thermally bonds the other end ofthe bundling tape cut by the cutter 54.

The hold and transport unit 27 holds and transports the bundle ofbanknotes to the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 arranged in thedispensing transport unit 28.

The bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 transports the bundle of banknotesheld and transported by the hold and transport unit 27 toward thepushing mechanism 62 in the upper part of the banknote bundling device3.

The pushing mechanism 62 pushes and transports the bundle of banknotesto the dispense/hold mechanism 63 in a direction of the bundledispensing outlet 23 (towards the front side of the apparatus) bypushing the bundle of banknotes transported to the upper part of thebanknote bundling device 3 by the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61.

The dispense/hold mechanism 63 includes a bundled-banknotes stackingunit 63A in which the bundle of banknotes, that is pushed andtransported by the pushing mechanism 62, is stacked, and a bundledbanknotes stage 63B for placing the bundle of banknotes stacked in thebundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A. The dispense/hold mechanism 63adjusts a height of the bundled banknotes stage 63B so that the bundleof banknotes pushed by the pushing mechanism 62 comes to rest on thetopmost bundle of banknotes resting on the bundled banknotes stage 63B.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of internal structure of thebanknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1.

The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1 includes, apart from thebanknote recognition unit 14, a stacker-side mechanism 110 arrangedinside the banknote processing device 2, a bundling-side mechanism 120arranged inside the banknote bundling device 3, an operation unit 130for inputting various commands, a display control unit 140 that performsa display control of the display device 4, a drive control unit 150 thatperforms a drive control of the stacker-side mechanism 110 and thebundling-side mechanism 120, a dimension-adjustment drive control unit160 that performs an adjustment control of the dimension adjustingmechanism 35 arranged inside the bundling-side mechanism 120, and acontrol unit 170 that performs an overall control of the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus 1.

The stacker-side mechanism 110 includes the feeding unit 12, thebanknote transport unit 13, the banknote reversing unit 15, the stackingwheel 16E (17C), the detection sensors 19 arranged in the banknoteprocessing device 2, and the diverting unit 13A.

The bundling-side mechanism 120 includes the detection sensors 19arranged in the banknote bundling device 3, the banknote transport unit13, the diverting unit 13A, the bundling unit 22, the pre-bundlingtransport unit 25, the post-bundling transport unit 26, the dimensionadjusting mechanism 35, and the banknote aligner wheels 33. Thepost-bundling transport unit 26 includes the hold and transport unit 27and the dispensing transport unit 28. The dimension adjusting mechanism35 includes the banknote aligning mechanism 36 and the short-edgedimension adjusting mechanism 37.

The control unit 170 sets the banknote-kind to be stacked (stackingbanknote) in each of the stackers 16, the first reject units 17, thesecond reject unit 20, and the bundling-side stacking units 21. Forexample, the control unit 170 sets 5 Euro banknote for the first stacker16A, 50 Euro banknote for the second stacker 16B, 100 Euro banknote forthe third stacker 16C, 200 Euro banknote for the fourth stacker 16D, 500Euro banknote for a first reject unit 17A, and further sets, as initialsettings, 10 Euro banknote for a first bundling-side stacking unit 21A,20 Euro banknote for a second bundling-side stacking unit 21B, and aspare for a third bundling-side stacking unit 21C. The first reject unit17A can be used as a stacker for stacking rare kinds of banknotes suchas 500 Euro banknotes.

The control unit 170 also identifies errors such as jamming of thebanknotes on the transport path, based on a detection result of thedetection sensors 19.

Upon receiving the banknote-kind of the transported banknote recognizedby the banknote recognition unit 14, if the banknote being transportedthrough the banknote transport path 18 is of the banknote-kind (stackingbanknote) set for any one of the stackers 16 or the bundling-sidestacking unit 21, the drive control unit 150 performs the drive controlof the banknote transport unit 13 and the diverting unit 13A so that thebanknote being transported is sorted and stacked in the stacker 16 orthe bundling-side stacking unit 21 corresponding to the banknote-kind.

If the banknote being transported through the banknote transport path 18is not of the banknote-kind set for any one of the stackers 16 and thebundling-side stacking unit 21, or the banknote cannot be recognized dueto transport error, etc., the drive control unit 150 performs the drivecontrol of the banknote transport unit 13 and the diverting unit 13A sothat the banknote is transported to the first reject unit 17.

If the banknote being transported through the banknote transport path 18is of the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) that is set for thebundling-side stacking unit 21, the drive control unit 150 performs thedrive control of the banknote transport unit 13 and the diverting unit13A so that the transported banknote is sorted and stacked in thebundling-side stacking unit 21.

For example, if the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) set for the firstbundling-side stacking unit 21A is 10 Euro banknote, the banknote-kindset for the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B is 20 Euro banknote,and the third bundling-side stacking unit 21C is set as a spare stackingunit, and if the number of the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in thefirst bundling-side stacking unit 21A has reached one hundred, the drivecontrol unit 150 performs the drive control of the pre-bundlingtransport unit 25 so that the hand unit 41 arranged in the transportunit 42 of the pre-bundling transport unit 25 draws out thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the first bundling-side stackingunit 21A.

When the number of the 10 Euro banknotes stacked in the firstbundling-side stacking unit 21A reaches one hundred, the control unit170 switches the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the spare thirdbundling-side stacking unit 21C to 10 Euro banknote, and once the onehundred banknotes of 10 Euro banknote are drawn out by the hand unit 41arranged in the transport unit 42, switches the banknote-kind (stackingbanknote) for the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A to the spare.

When the number of 10 Euro banknotes stacked in the first bundling-sidestacking unit 21A reaches one hundred, and the banknote-kind (stackingbanknote) for the spare third bundling-side stacking unit 21C is set as10 Euro banknote, the dimension-adjustment drive control unit 160performs the drive control of the dimension adjusting mechanism 35 ofthe third bundling-side stacking unit 21C so that the thirdbundling-side stacking unit 21C is adjusted according to the banknotedimension of the set banknote, that is, the 10 Euro banknote. Thedimension-adjustment drive control unit 160 manages, for everybanknote-kind, the swing positions of the arm units 36A arranged in thebanknote aligning mechanism 36 and the short-edge dimension of theshort-edge dimension adjusting mechanism 37.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are drawings for clearly explaining action transitions ofthe dimension adjusting mechanism 35 of the bundling-side stacking unit21.

The dimension-adjustment drive control unit 160 performs the drivecontrol of the short-edge dimension adjusting mechanism 37 so that thestacking space 31 is adjusted by moving the back side wall 31B in the Xdirection according to the banknote set to be stacked therein. Inaddition, the dimension-adjustment drive control unit 160 performs thedrive control of the banknote aligning mechanism 36 so that the swingpositions of the arm units 36A of the banknote aligning mechanism 36 areset according to a long-edge dimension of the set banknote.

The dimension-adjustment drive control unit 160 first performs the drivecontrol so that the back side wall 31B is moved to a position accordingto the short-edge dimension of the set banknote, and the arm units 36Aof the banknote aligning mechanism 36 are held at the set swingpositions according to the set long-edge dimension (see FIG. 7A).

Upon detection of the banknote approaching the stacking space 31 by theapproach detecting sensors 34, the dimension-adjustment drive controlunit 160 performs the next drive control so that the left and right armunits 36A are wide opened (see FIG. 7B).

After a lapse of a predetermined time period after the approachdetecting sensors 34 detect that the banknote has passed the sensors,the dimension-adjustment drive control unit 160 performs the next drivecontrol so that the left and right arm units 36A swing to the set swingpositions to adjust the position of the banknote stacked in the stackingspace 31 in the longitudinal direction with the free ends of the leftand right arm units 36A (see FIG. 7C).

FIGS. 8A to 8D are drawings for clearly explaining action transitions ofthe pre-bundling transport unit 25.

When the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stackingunit 21 are drawn out by the transport unit 42, the pre-bundlingtransport unit 25 moves, downward to a level of the lowermost edge, thestage member 32 arranged in the bundling-side stacking unit 21 in whichthe bundling-object-banknotes to be drawn out are stacked (see FIG. 8A).

The transport unit 42 of the pre-bundling transport unit 25, through theaction of the driving belt 44B, moves downward along the guiding shaft44A to a position corresponding to the bundling-side stacking unit 21 inwhich the bundling-object-banknotes to be drawn out are stacked, thatis, to a position where an upper surface of the lower hand 41B is lowerthan the bottommost banknote of the bundling-object-banknotes stacked inthe bundling-side stacking unit 21 (see FIG. 8A).

Meanwhile, the upper hand 41A of the transport unit 42 of thepre-bundling transport unit 25 is moved upward, through the action ofthe driving belt 41C, to a position where an upper surface of the upperhand 41A is higher than the topmost banknote of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21(see FIG. 8A). Thus, there is a wide gap between the upper hand 41A andthe lower hand 41B.

The transport unit 42 is moved forward through the action of the drivingbelt 43A of the horizontal movement mechanism 43, and the movementcauses the upper hand 41A and the lower hand 41B advance into thebundling-side stacking unit 21 through the opening 31C formed on theback side wall 31B of the bundling-side stacking unit 21 and bepositioned such that the bundling-object-banknotes are disposed betweenthe upper hand 41A and the lower hand 41B (see FIG. 8B).

The upper hand 41A of the transport unit 42 is moved downward throughthe action of the driving belt 41C, so that thebundling-object-banknotes on the stage member 32 are tightly heldbetween the upper hand 41A and the lower hand 41B (see FIG. 8C).

Thereafter, the transport unit 42 is moved backward through the actionof the driving belt 43A of the horizontal movement mechanism 43, andthus, the bundling-object-banknotes held by the upper hand 41A and thelower hand 41B are ready to be transported to the bundling unit 22 orthe loose-banknotes returning outlet 24 (see FIG. 8D).

The drive control unit 150 shown in FIG. 6 performs the drive control ofthe pre-bundling transport unit 25 so that when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21reaches one hundred, the hand unit 41 of the transport unit 42 arrangedin the pre-bundling transport unit 25 advances into the stacking space31 through the opening 31C of the back side wall 31B, holds thebundling-object-banknotes on the stage member 32, and draws out the heldbundling-object-banknotes from the bundling-side stacking unit 21 totransport to the bundling unit 22.

Furthermore, at the end of the transaction when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21does not reach one hundred, the drive control unit 150 performs thedrive control of the pre-bundling transport unit 25 so that the handunit 41 of the transport unit 42 advances into the stacking space 31through the opening 31C of the back side wall 31B, holds thebundling-object-banknotes on the stage member 32, and draws out the heldloose banknotes of the bundling-object-banknotes from the bundling-sidestacking unit 21 to transport to the loose-banknotes returning outlet24.

After the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-sidestacking unit 21 are drawn out, the drive control unit 150 raises thestage member 32 arranged in the bundling-side stacking unit 21 andreturns it to a normal standby position for waiting banknotes to bestacked therein.

If a transport error is detected by the detection sensors 19 when thebanknote is upstream of a first reject unit 17B, the drive control unit150 subsequently transports the banknote to the first reject unit 17B.

If a transport error is detected by the detection sensors 19 when thebanknote is downstream of the first reject unit 17B, the drive controlunit 150 performs the drive control of the banknote transport unit 13and the diverting unit 13A so that the banknote is transported to thesecond reject unit 20. When transport errors such as skewed state of thebanknote on the banknote transport path 18, or chained banknotes on thebanknote transport path 18, or double feed of the banknotes on thebanknote transport path 18, etc., occur downstream of the first rejectunit 17B, that is, on the second transport path 18B or the thirdtransport path 18C, recovery can be achieved quickly by transporting theerror banknotes to the second reject unit 20, as compared with stoppingthe transport of the banknotes.

FIGS. 9A to 9K are drawings for clearly explaining action transitions ofthe dispensing transport unit 28 of the post-bundling transport unit 26.

A transport lift 61A, for placing the bundle of banknotes transported bythe hold and transport unit 27, of the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61of the dispensing transport unit 28 is at the bottommost position in astandby state (see FIG. 9A).

The bundle of banknotes is transported to a position above the transportlift 61A of the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 by the hold andtransport unit 27 (see FIG. 9B). The transport lift 61A on thebundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 side is raised up to the bundle ofbanknotes so that the bundle of banknotes rests thereon (see FIG. 9C).Thereafter, the hold and transport unit 27 releases its hold of thebundle of banknotes (see FIG. 9D), and moves backward to a standbyposition (see FIG. 9E). The standby position of the hold and transportunit 27 corresponds to a position where it can accept thebundling-object-banknotes from the pre-bundling transport unit 25.

Thereafter, the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 raises the transportlift 61A on which the bundle of banknotes is placed. A push transportunit 62A of the pushing mechanism 62 attains a pushed status by a linkmechanism 61B as the transport lift 61A rises (see FIG. 9F), and thebundle of banknotes placed on the transport lift 61A is set on the pushtransport unit 62A (see FIG. 9G).

The push transport unit 62A pushes and transports the bundle ofbanknotes thereon towards the bundle dispensing outlet 23 (see FIG. 9H)located on the front side of the apparatus.

Thereafter, the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 lowers the transportlift 61A to the bottommost position. The push transport unit 62A returnsto its original standby state by the action of the link mechanism 61Bwhich is moved with the lowering action. The bundle of banknotes isstacked in the bundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A arranged in thedispense/hold mechanism 63 (see FIGS. 9I and 9J).

The dispense/hold mechanism 63 adjusts the position of the bundledbanknotes stage 63B arranged in the bundled-banknotes stacking unit 63Aso that the topmost bundle of banknotes among those stacked in thebundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A is held at the position of thebundle dispensing outlet 23 (see FIG. 9K).

In the claims of the present application, the banknote sorting andbundling apparatus corresponds to the banknote sorting and bundlingapparatus 1, a banknote bundling device corresponds to the banknotebundling device 3, the input port corresponds to the hopper unit 11, asorting and stacking unit corresponds to the stacker 16, thebundling-side stacking unit corresponds to the bundling-side stackingunit 21, a bundling unit corresponds to the bundling unit 22, the firsttransport path corresponds to the first transport path 18A, the secondtransport path corresponds to the second transport path 18B, the thirdtransport path corresponds to the third transport path 18C, the banknotetransport path corresponds to the banknote transport path 18, thediverting unit corresponds to the diverting unit 13A, the banknotetransport unit corresponds to the banknote transport unit 13, the drivecontrol unit corresponds to the drive control unit 150, the bundledispensing outlet corresponds to the bundle dispensing outlet 23, afirst reject unit corresponds to the first reject unit 17, a secondreject unit corresponds to the second reject unit 20, a face reversingunit corresponds to the banknote reversing unit 15, a pre-bundlingtransport unit corresponds to the pre-bundling transport unit 25, abundle transport unit corresponds to the post-bundling transport unit26, and a error detecting unit corresponds to the detection sensor 19.Furthermore, the bundling-side stacking unit corresponds to the firstbundling-side stacking unit 21A, the second bundling-side stacking unit21B, and the third bundling-side stacking unit 21C.

An operation of the banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1 accordingto the first embodiment is explained below.

Assuming that the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the firststacker 16A is set to 5 Euro banknote, 50 Euro banknote is set for thesecond stacker 16B, 100 Euro banknote is set for the third stacker 16C,200 Euro banknote is set for the fourth stacker 16D, 500 Euro banknoteis set for the first reject unit 17A, and further as initial settings,10 Euro banknote is set for the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A,20 Euro banknote is set for the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B,and the third bundling-side stacking unit 21C is set as a spare stackingunit.

The operator deposits a plurality of Euro banknotes of mixed kinds inthe hopper unit 11.

The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1 sequentially transportsthe banknotes, one by one, deposited in the hopper unit 11 by thefeeding unit 12 to the first transport path 18A.

The control unit 170 obtains from the banknote recognition unit 14 thebanknote-kind of the banknote transported through the first transportpath 18A, and transmits the banknote-kind to the drive control unit 150.

The drive control unit 150 transports the banknote, based on therecognized banknote-kind of the banknote transported through the firsttransport path 18A, to the corresponding one among stacker 16 (the firststacker 16A to the fourth stacker 16D), the first reject unit 17A, orthe bundling-side stacking unit 21 (the first bundling-side stackingunit 21A to the third bundling-side stacking unit 21C). The drivecontrol unit 150 transports the banknote to the first reject unit 17A ifthe banknote-kind of the banknote being transported through the firsttransport path 18A is recognized to be a 500 Euro.

When the banknote is being transported from the first transport path 18Ato the second transport path 18B, the drive control unit 150 transportsthe banknote through the reversing route or the non-reversing route ofthe banknote reversing unit 15 so that the banknotes faces in thespecific direction, for example, face-up direction, and the banknotesfaces in the same specific direction are transported through the thirdtransport path 18C.

The drive control unit 150 sorts and stacks the banknote beingtransported through the third transport path 18C according to thebanknote-kind thereof. For example, if the banknote being transported isa 5 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transports the banknote tothe first stacker 16A and stacks it therein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 50 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the second stacker 16B and stacks it therein.

Similarly, if the banknote being transported through the third transportpath 18C is a 100 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transportsthe banknote to the third stacker 16C and stacks it therein.

Likewise, if the banknote being transported through the third transportpath 18C is a 200 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transportsthe banknote to the fourth stacker 16D and stacks it therein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 10 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A and stacks ittherein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 20 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B and stacks ittherein.

That is, the drive control unit 150 transports all the Euro banknotesexcept 500 Euro banknotes through the first transport path 18A, thesecond transport path 18B, and the third transport path 18C, in thatorder, to stack them in one of the stackers 16 or the bundling-sidestacking units 21.

When the number of the banknotes stacked in the first bundling-sidestacking unit 21A reaches, for example, one hundred, the drive controlunit 150 draws out the one hundred bundling-object-banknotes through theaction of the hand unit 41 arranged in the transport unit 42, andtransports the bundling-object-banknotes to the bundling unit 22. Thecontrol unit 170 switches the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) of thespare third bundling-side stacking unit 21C to 10 Euro banknotes. Thebanknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the first bundling-side stackingunit 21A in which the banknotes can be stacked again is set as a sparestacking unit.

The drive control unit 150 holds the one hundred banknotes drawn fromthe first bundling-side stacking unit 21A through the action of the handunit 41 arranged in the transport unit 42, transports thebundling-object-banknotes to the hold and transport unit 27, and afterthe bundling tape has been wrapped around the one hundredbundling-object-banknotes set on the hold and transport unit 27,transports the bundle of banknotes, by the hold and transport unit 27,to the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 arranged in the dispensingtransport unit 28.

The bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 transports the bundle of banknotesreceived from the hold and transport unit 27 to the push transport unit62A located in the upper part of the apparatus. The push transport unit62A stacks the bundle of banknotes in the bundled-banknotes stackingunit 63A in the bundle dispensing outlet 23 located on the front side ofthe apparatus, and the bundle of banknotes is held at the position ofthe bundle dispensing outlet 23 located near the hopper unit 11. Asshown in FIG. 10, the operator, shown in a dotted line, can reach thebundle of banknotes at the bundle dispensing outlet 23.

That is, the banknotes are transported through, in that order, thehopper unit 11, the first transport path 18A, the second transport path18B, the third transport path 18C, the bundling-side stacking unit 21,the pre-bundling transport unit 25, the bundling unit 22 and the holdand transport unit 27, the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61, the pushtransport unit 62A, and the bundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A, beforethe bundle of banknotes is dispensed and stacked at the position of thebundle dispensing outlet 23. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 10, theoperator can collect the bundle of banknotes at the bundle dispensingoutlet 23 located near the hopper unit 11 without having to move fromthe position for the hopper unit 11.

When the number of the banknotes stacked in, for example, the secondbundling-side stacking unit 21B reaches one hundred, the drive controlunit 150 draws out the one hundred bundling-object-banknotes through theaction of the hand unit 41 arranged in the transport unit 42, andtransports the bundling-object-banknotes to the bundling unit 22. Thecontrol unit 170 switches the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) of thespare first bundling-side stacking unit 21A to 20 Euro banknote. Thebanknote-kind (stacking banknote) of the second bundling-side stackingunit 21B in which the banknotes can be stacked again is set as a sparestacking unit.

The banknote-kind (stacking banknote) of the first bundling-sidestacking unit 21A, which was earlier set as spare stacking unit, nowneeds to be set to 20 Euro banknote. When changing the banknote stackingsettings for the bundling-side stacking unit 21, the time, required bythe dimension adjusting mechanism 35 for dimension adjustment, can begained since it needs time to transport the banknote. The banknote fedfrom the hopper 11 has to pass above the stacker 16, and be transportedthrough the first transport path 18A, the second transport path 18B, andthe third transport path 18C, in that order, before being stacked in thestacker 16 or the bundling-side stacking unit 21.

If a transport error is detected by the detection sensor 19 when thebanknote is transported downstream of the first reject unit 17B, thedrive control unit 150 subsequently transports the banknote, that istransported downstream of the first reject unit 17B, to the secondreject unit 20.

Consequently, even if the transport error of the banknote is detecteddownstream of the first reject unit 17B, the banknote can be removedfrom the second reject unit 20 without having to stop the operation.

The first embodiment includes the banknote transport path 18 that, inturn, includes the first transport path 18A that is connected to thehopper unit 11 and that passes above the stackers 16, the secondtransport path 18B that is connected to the first transport path 18A andthat bends back in the arrangement direction of the stackers 16, and thethird transport path 18C that is connected to the second transport path18B, the stackers 16 and the bundling-side stacking unit 21, and thepost-bundling transport unit 26 that dispenses the bundle of banknotesbundled by the bundling unit 22 to the bundle dispensing outlet 23located near the hopper unit 11. Consequently, in the presentembodiment, while greatly reducing a cost and an installation space ofthe whole apparatus compared with the conventional technology, a layoutis realized so that the hopper unit is located centrally and the bundledispensing outlet can be accessed by an operator at the position for thehopper unit without having to move from the position. Thus, workefficiency of the operator is significantly improved.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the banknote reversing unit 15,that reverses the banknote so that a banknote faces in a specificdirection, namely, the face-up or the face-down, is arranged on thesecond transport path 18B. Consequently, the transported banknotes canbe faced in the specific direction.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21reaches one hundred, the one hundred bundling-object-banknotes aretransported by the pre-bundling transport unit 25 to the bundling unit22 where the bundling-object-banknotes are bundled. Subsequently, thebundle of banknotes is transported to the bundle dispensing outlet 23through the actions of the hold and transport unit 27, thebundled-banknotes lifting unit 61, the push transport unit 62A, and thebundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the banknote recognition unit 14and the first reject unit 17 are provided on the first transport path18A, and the second reject unit 20 is provided at the far end on thethird transport path 18C. When a transport error of the banknote isdetected downstream of the first reject unit 17B, for example, on thesecond transport path 18B or the third transport path 18C, the banknoteon the second transport path 18B or the third transport path 18C istransported to the second reject unit 20. Consequently, even when thetransport error of the banknote is detected on the second transport path18B and the third transport path 18C that are downstream of the firstreject unit 17B, the banknote on the second transport path 18B and thethird transport path 18C can be removed from the second reject unit 20,which is arranged at the far end of the third transport path 18C,without having to stop the operation. Thus, operation availability ofthe apparatus can be improved.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, two bundling-side stacking units21 are provided for sorting and stacking the banknotes of differentpredetermined banknote-kinds, and one bundling-side stacking unit 21,for which no banknote-kind is set, is provided as a spare stacking unit.When the number of the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in thebundling-side stacking unit 21 reaches one hundred, the banknote-kindcurrently set for this stacking unit is set for the spare bundling-sidestacking unit 21, and the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for thisstacking unit, from which the one hundred banknotes are drawn out by thehand unit 41 of the transport unit 42 and in which the banknotes can bestacked again, is switched to the spare. Thus, even if the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in one bundling-side stacking unit 21reaches one hundred, the bundling-object-banknotes can be subsequentlystacked in the spare bundling-side stacking unit 21 in which nobanknotes are stacked without having to stop the stacking operation.Consequently, a situation, where when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in one bundling-side stacking unit 21reaches one hundred, there is no free stacking unit for stacking thesubsequent bundling-object-banknotes, can be reliably avoided whilekeeping the number of the bundling-side stacking units 21 to the minimum(three). In addition, the operation availability of the apparatus isimproved.

In the banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1 according to the firstembodiment, one banknote bundling device 3 is connected with onebanknote processing device 2. A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus1A in which a plurality of the banknote bundling devices 3, for example,two banknote bundling devices 3, is connected with one banknoteprocessing device 2 is explained in a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing of an internal structure of a banknotesorting and bundling apparatus according to the second embodiment. Inthe banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to the secondembodiment, the parts that are identical to those in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment havebeen assigned the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereofis omitted.

In the banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1A shown in FIG. 11, anadditional banknote bundling device 3B is connected to a banknotebundling device 3A through the third transport path 18C, and a secondreject unit 20B is arranged at the far end of the third transport path18C.

The banknote reversing unit 15 arranged on the second transport path 18Bincludes a short-edge reversing unit 15B that is capable of reversingthe banknote being transported in the short-edge direction, and along-edge reversing unit 15C that is capable of reversing the banknotebeing transported in the long-edge direction.

FIG. 12 is a drawing for clearly explaining reversing processesperformed by the short-edge reversing unit 15B and the long-edgereversing unit 15C.

When transporting the banknote in the state A, shown in FIG. 12, to thethird transport path 18C, the banknote is transported in the state A viathe non-reversing route for both the short-edge reversing unit 15B andthe long-edge reversing unit 15C, and no reversing process is performedby the short-edge reversing unit 15B or the long-edge reversing unit15C.

When transporting the banknote that is in the state B to the thirdtransport path 18C, the banknote is transported via the non-reversingroute for the short-edge reversing unit 15B and via the reversing routefor the long-edge reversing unit 15C. Therefore, no reversing process isperformed by the short-edge reversing unit 15B and the reversing processis performed by the long-edge reversing unit 15C so that the banknote isin the state A before it is transported to the third transport path 18C.

When transporting the banknote that is in a state C to the thirdtransport path 18C, the banknote is first transported via the reversingroute to perform the reversing process in the short-edge reversing unit15B and then transported via the reversing route to perform thereversing process in the long-edge reversing unit 15C so that thebanknote is in the state A before it is transported to the thirdtransport path 18C.

When transporting the banknote that is in a state D to the thirdtransport path 18C, the banknote is transported via the reversing routeto perform the reversing process in the short-edge reversing unit 15Band via the non-reversing route not to perform the reversing process inthe long-edge reversing unit 15C so that the banknote is in the state Abefore it is transported to the third transport path 18C.

In the claims, a banknote sorting and bundling apparatus corresponds tothe banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1A, a banknote bundlingdevice corresponds to the banknote bundling devices 3A and 3B, abundling unit corresponds to the bundling unit 22 arranged in each ofthe banknote bundling devices 3A and 3B, a second reject unitcorresponds to the second reject unit 20B, and a face reversing unitcorresponds to the banknote reversing unit 15.

An operation of the banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1A accordingto the second embodiment is explained below.

Assuming that in the banknote processing device 2, the banknote-kind(stacking banknote) for the first stacker 16A is set to 5 Euro banknote,50 Euro banknote is set for the second stacker 16B, 100 Euro banknote isset for the third stacker 16C, 200 Euro banknote is set for the fourthstacker 16D, and 500 Euro banknote is set for the first reject unit 17A.For the bundling-side stacking units 21 arranged in a first banknotebundling device 3A, the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the firstbundling-side stacking unit 21A is set to 10 Euro fit note, 20 Euro fitnote is set for the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B, and thethird bundling-side stacking unit 21C is set as a spare stacking unit.For the bundling-side stacking unit 21 arranged in a second banknotebundling device 3B, the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the firstbundling-side stacking unit 21A is set to 10 Euro unfit note, 20 Eurofit note is set for the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B, and thethird bundling-side stacking unit 21C is set as a spare stacking unit.

The operator deposits a plurality of Euro banknotes of mixed kinds inthe hopper unit 11.

The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus 1A sequentially transportsthe banknote, one by one, deposited in the hopper unit 11 through theaction of the feeding unit 12 thorough the first transport path 18A.

The control unit 170 obtains from the banknote recognition unit 14 thebanknote-kind of the banknote transported through the first transportpath 18A, and transmits the banknote-kind to the drive control unit 150.

The drive control unit 150 transports the banknote, based on therecognized banknote-kind of the banknote transported through the firsttransport path 18A, to the stacker 16 (the first stacker 16A to thefourth stacker 16D), the first reject unit 17A, or the bundling-sidestacking unit 21 (the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A to the thirdbundling-side stacking unit 21C) corresponding to the banknote-kind. Thedrive control unit 150 transports the banknote to the first reject unit17A if the banknote-kind of the banknote being transported through thefirst transport path 18A is recognized to be a 500 Euro.

When the banknote is being transported to the second transport path 18Bfrom the first transport path 18A, the drive control unit 150 perform aprocess so that the banknote faces in a specific direction through theaction of the banknote reversing unit 15A, and transports the banknotefacing in the specific direction through the third transport path 18C.

The drive control unit 150 sorts and stacks the banknote beingtransported through the third transport path 18C according to thebanknote-kind thereof. If the banknote being transported is a 5 Eurobanknote, the drive control unit 150 transports the banknote to thefirst stacker 16A and stacks it therein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 50 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the second stacker 16B and stacks it therein.

Similarly, if the banknote being transported through the third transportpath 18C is a 100 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transportsthe banknote to the third stacker 16C and stacks it therein.

Likewise, if the banknote being transported through the third transportpath 18C is a 200 Euro banknote, the drive control unit 150 transportsthe banknote to the fourth stacker 16D and stacks it therein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 10 Euro fit note, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A arranged in thefirst banknote bundling device 3A and stacks it therein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 20 Euro fit note, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B arranged in thefirst banknote bundling device 3A and stacks it therein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 10 Euro unfit note, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A arranged in thesecond banknote bundling device 3B and stacks it therein.

If the banknote being transported through the third transport path 18Cis a 20 Euro unfit note, the drive control unit 150 transports thebanknote to the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B arranged in thesecond banknote bundling device 3B and stacks it therein.

That is, the drive control unit 150 transports all the Euro banknotesexcept 500 Euro banknotes through the first transport path 18A, thesecond transport path 18B, and the third transport path 18C in thatorder to stack them in one of the stackers 16 or the bundling-sidestacking units 21 arranged in the first banknote bundling device 3A orthe second banknote bundling device 3B.

When the number of the banknotes stacked in the first bundling-sidestacking unit 21A arranged in the first banknote bundling device 3Areaches, for example, one hundred, the drive control unit 150 draws outthe one hundred bundling-object-banknotes through the action of the handunit 41 in the transport unit 42, and transports thebundling-object-banknotes to the bundling unit 22 arranged in the firstbanknote bundling device 3A. The control unit 170 switches thebanknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the spare third bundling-sidestacking unit 21C arranged in the first banknote bundling device 3A to10 Euro fit note, and sets the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for thefirst bundling-side stacking unit 21A, in which the banknotes can bestacked again, arranged in the first banknote bundling device 3A, to thespare.

The drive control unit 150 holds the one hundred banknotes drawn outfrom the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A arranged in the firstbanknote bundling device 3A through the action of the hand unit 41arranged in the transport unit 42, and after the banknotes have been setand bundled with the bundling tape, transports the bundle of banknotes,by the hold and transport unit 27 arranged in the first banknotebundling device 3A, to the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 arranged inthe first banknote bundling device 3A.

The bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 arranged in the first banknotebundling device 3A transports the bundle of banknotes received from thehold and transport unit 27 to the push transport unit 62A on the upperpart of the apparatus. The push transport unit 62A arranged in the firstbanknote bundling device 3A transports the bundle of banknotes to thebundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A having the bundle dispensing outlet23 located on the front side of the apparatus, and holds the bundle ofbanknotes at the position of the bundle dispensing outlet 23 locatednear the hopper unit 11. An operator can reach the bundle of banknotesat the bundle dispensing outlet 23. Consequently, the operator cancollect the bundle of banknotes, for example, bundled fit notes of 10Euros and 20 Euros to be reused within the bank, from the bundledispensing outlet 23 located near the hopper unit 11 without having tomove from the position for the hopper unit 11.

When the number of the banknotes stacked in the first bundling-sidestacking unit 21A arranged in the second banknote bundling device 3Breaches, for example, one hundred, the drive control unit 150 draws outthe one hundred bundling-object-banknotes through the action of the handunit 41 arranged in the transport unit 42, and transports thebundling-object-banknotes to the bundling unit 22 arranged in the secondbanknote bundling device 3B. The control unit 170 switches thebanknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the spare third bundling-sidestacking unit 21C arranged in the second banknote bundling device 3B to10 Euro unfit note, and the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for thefirst bundling-side stacking unit 21A, in which the banknotes can bestacked again, arranged in the second banknote bundling device 3B to thespare.

The drive control unit 150 holds the one hundred banknotes drawn outfrom the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A through the action of thehand unit 41 arranged in the transport unit 42, and after the banknoteshave been set and bundled with the bundling tape, transports the bundleof banknotes, by the hold and transport unit 27 arranged in the secondbanknote bundling device 3B, to the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61arranged in the second banknote bundling device 3B.

The bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61 arranged in the second banknotebundling device 3B transports the bundle of banknotes received from thehold and transport unit 27 to the push transport unit 62A on the upperpart of the apparatus. The push transport unit 62A arranged in thesecond banknote bundling device 3B transports the bundle of banknotes tothe bundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A having the bundle dispensingoutlet 23 located on the front side of the apparatus, and holds thebundle of banknotes at the position of the bundle dispensing outlet 23.Consequently, the operator can collect the bundle of banknotes, forexample, bundled unfit notes of 10 Euros and 20 Euros to be returned tocentral bank, from the bundle dispensing outlet 23 located near thehopper unit 11 without having to move from the hopper unit 11.

Furthermore, when the number of the banknotes stacked in the secondbundling-side stacking unit 21B arranged in the second banknote bundlingdevice 3B reaches one hundred, the drive control unit 150 draws out theone hundred bundling-object-banknotes through the action of the handunit 41 arranged in the transport unit 42, and transports thebundling-object-banknotes to the bundling unit 22. The control unit 170switches the banknote-kind (stacking banknote) for the spare firstbundling-side stacking unit 21A arranged in the second banknote bundlingdevice 3B to 20 Euro unfit note, and the banknote-kind (stackingbanknote) for the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B, in which thebanknotes can be stacked, arranged in the second banknote bundlingdevice 3B to the spare.

When a transport error of the banknote being transported downstream ofthe first reject unit 17B is detected by the detection sensor 19, thedrive control unit 150 subsequently transports the banknote to thesecond reject unit 20B that is located downstream of the first rejectunit 17B.

Consequently, even if the transport error of the banknote beingtransported is detected downstream of the first reject unit 17B, thebanknote can be removed from the second reject unit 20B without havingto stop the operation.

In the second embodiment, connection of a plurality of the banknotebundling devices 3 has been enabled, and the drive control of thebanknote transport unit 13 and the diverting unit 13A is performed sothat the banknotes are sorted and stacked to the correspondingbundling-side stacking units 21 of each bundling unit 22 through thethird transport path 18C. Consequently, a plurality of the banknotebundling devices 3 can be installed.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, even when a plurality of thebanknote bundling devices 3, each including the bundling unit 22, thebundling-side stacking units 21, and the post-bundling transport unit26, are connected, in the banknote bundling device 3A that is at anupstream location, the bundle of banknotes bundled by the bundling unit22 arranged in the banknote bundling device 3A is dispensed from thebundle dispensing outlet 23 arranged in the banknote bundling device 3A,whereas in the banknote bundling device 3B that is at a downstreamlocation, the bundle of banknotes bundled by the bundling unit 22arranged in the banknote bundling device 3B is dispensed from a bundledispensing outlet 23A arranged in the banknote bundling device 3B thatis located near the hopper unit 11. Consequently, the operator can aseasily access the bundle dispensing outlet 23 in the banknote bundlingdevice 3A as he/she can access the bundle dispensing outlet 23A in thebanknote bundling device 3B without having to move from the hopper unit11.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21of each of the banknote bundling devices 3 reaches one hundred, the onehundred bundling-object-banknotes are transported by the pre-bundlingtransport unit 25 to the bundling unit 22 of the respective banknotebundling device 3, and once the bundling-object-banknotes are bundled bythe bundling unit 22, the bundle of banknotes is transported to thebundle dispensing outlet 23 (23A) through the actions of the hold andtransport unit 27, the bundled-banknotes lifting unit 61, the pushtransport unit 62A, and the bundled-banknotes stacking unit 63A of therespective banknote bundling device 3.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the banknote recognition unit 14and the first reject unit 17 are provided on the first transport path18A, and the second reject unit 20B is provided at the far end on thethird transport path 18C inside the second banknote bundling device 3B.When the transport error of the banknote is detected downstream of thefirst reject unit 17B, the banknote that is downstream of the firstreject unit 17B is transported to the second reject unit 20B.Consequently, even when the transport error of the banknote is detecteddownstream of the first reject unit 17B, the banknote can be removedfrom the second reject unit 20B, which is arranged at a far end of thethird transport path 18C, without having to stop the operation. Thus,the operation availability of the apparatus is improved.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, for each of the banknote bundlingdevices 3, two bundling-side stacking units 21 are provided for sortingand stacking the banknotes of different predetermined banknote-kinds,and one bundling-side stacking unit 21 for which no banknote-kind is setis provided as a spare stacking unit. When the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit 21arranged in the second banknote bundling device 3B reaches, for example,one hundred, the banknote-kind currently set for this stacking unit isset for the spare bundling-side stacking unit 21, and the banknote-kind(stacking banknote) for this stacking unit, from which the one hundredbanknotes are drawn out by the hand unit 41 of the transport unit 42 andin which the banknotes can be stacked again, is switched to the spare.Thus, even if the number of the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in onebundling-side stacking unit 21 reaches one hundred, thebundling-object-banknotes can be subsequently stacked in the sparebundling-side stacking unit 21, in which no banknotes are stacked,without having to stop the stacking operation. Consequently, asituation, where when the number of the bundling-object-banknotesstacked in one bundling-side stacking unit 21 reaches one hundred, nofree stacking unit is available for stacking the banknotes of theconcerned banknote-kind, can be reliably avoided while keeping thenumber of the bundling-side stacking units 21 to the minimum (three) ineach of the banknote bundling devices 3 (3A and 3B). In addition, theoperation availability of the apparatus is improved.

Although in the present embodiment, the control unit 170 and the drivecontrol unit 150 are provided inside the banknote sorting and bundlingapparatus 1, they can be provided either inside the banknote processingdevice 2 or the banknote bundling device 3 arranged in the banknotesorting and bundling apparatus 1.

Although the present embodiment has been explained taking Euro as anexample, the same advantages can be obtained for other denominations.For example, in the case of US dollars, the denomination kind (stackingbanknotes) for the first reject unit 17A can be set to 2 US dollar, 1 USdollar can be set for the first stacker 16A, 5 US dollar can be set forthe second stacker 16B, 50 US dollar can be set for the third stacker16C, 100 US dollar can be set for the fourth stacker 16D, 10 US dollarcan be set for the first bundling-side stacking unit 21A, 20 US dollarcan be set for the second bundling-side stacking unit 21B, and the thirdbundling-side stacking unit 21C can be set as a spare.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a specificembodiment for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims arenot to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying allmodifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art which fairly fall within the basic teaching hereinset forth. The advantages of the present embodiment are not limited tothose stated here.

All the automatic processes explained in the present embodiment can be,entirely or in part, carried out manually by a known method. Similarly,all the manual processes explained in the present embodiment can be,entirely or in part, carried out automatically by a known method. Theprocess procedures, the control procedures, specific names, and data,including various parameters, mentioned in the description and drawingscan be changed as required unless otherwise specified.

The constituent elements of the apparatus illustrated are merelyconceptual and may not necessarily physically resemble the structuresshown in the drawings. For example, the apparatus need not necessarilyhave the structure that is illustrated. The apparatus as a whole or inparts can be broken down or integrated either functionally or physicallyin accordance with the load or how the device is to be used.

Each processing function performed by the apparatus can be entirely orpartially performed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (or a microcomputer such as an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and an MCU (MicroController Unit)), or a computer program executed by the CPU (or themicro computer such as the MPU and the MCU), or a hardware using wiredlogic.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according to the presentinvention can be used in the financial institutions, etc., because,compared with the conventional technology, in the present invention, alayout is realized by which the bundle dispensing outlet can be accessedby an operator at the position for the input port while greatlydecreasing the cost and the installation space of the whole apparatus,and the work efficiency of the operator is significantly improvedbecause the operator can access the bundle dispensing outlet withouthaving to move from the position for the input port.

1. A banknote sorting and bundling apparatus comprising: a sorting andstacking unit in which a banknote deposited in an input port is sortedand stacked; a bundling-side stacking unit in which a predeterminedbanknote is sorted and stacked as a bundling-object-banknote; a bundlingunit that bundles the bundling-object-banknotes stacked in thebundling-side stacking unit; a banknote transport unit that transportsthe banknote deposited in the input port through a banknote transportpath that includes a first transport path that is connected to the inputport and passes above the sorting and stacking unit, a second transportpath that is connected to the first transport path and bends back in anarrangement direction of the sorting and stacking unit, and a thirdtransport path that is connected to the second transport path, thesorting and stacking unit, and the bundling-side stacking unit; adiverting unit that diverts the banknote being transported through thebanknote transport path to at least the sorting and stacking unit or thebundling-side stacking unit; a bundle transport unit that dispenses abundle of banknotes bundled by the bundling unit to a bundle dispensingoutlet provided near the input port; and a drive control unit thatcontrols the banknote transport unit, the diverting unit, and the bundletransport unit.
 2. The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a banknote recognition unit thatrecognizes a banknote-kind of the banknote being transported on thefirst transport path; a first reject unit provided on the firsttransport path; and a second reject unit provided at a far end of thethird transport path, and wherein, upon detecting a first specificbanknote on the first transport path, the drive control unit controlsthe banknote transport unit and the diverting unit so that the firstspecific banknote is transported to the first reject unit, and, upondetecting a second specific banknote on the second transport path or thethird transport path, the drive control unit controls the banknotetransport unit and the diverting unit so that the second specificbanknote is transported to the second reject unit.
 3. The banknotesorting and bundling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprisinga face reversing unit provided on the second transport path thatreverses the banknote so that the banknote faces in a specificdirection, either face-up or face-down.
 4. The banknote sorting andbundling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pluralityof banknote bundling devices that can be connected each other, each ofthe banknote bundling devices including the bundling unit, thebundling-side stacking unit, and the bundle transport unit, wherein thedrive control unit controls the banknote transport unit and thediverting unit so that the banknotes are sorted and stacked in thebundling-side stacking unit, corresponding to the banknote, of thebanknote bundling devices via the third transport path.
 5. The banknotesorting and bundling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprisinga pre-bundling transport unit that transports a predetermined number ofthe bundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unitto the bundling unit, wherein the bundling unit is provided below thebundling-side stacking unit, and when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unitreaches the predetermined number, the drive control unit controls thepre-bundling transport unit so that the predetermined number ofbundling-object-banknotes stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit istransported to the bundling unit.
 6. The banknote sorting and bundlingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a banknoterecognition unit that recognizes a banknote-kind of the banknote beingtransported on the first transport path; a first reject unit provided onthe first transport path; a second reject unit provided at a far end ofthe third transport path; and an error detecting unit that detects atransport error of the banknote downstream of the first reject unit,wherein, when the transportation error of the banknote is detected bythe error detecting unit, the drive control unit controls the banknotetransport unit and the diverting unit so that the banknote on the secondtransport path or the third transport path is transported to the secondreject unit.
 7. The banknote sorting and bundling apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the bundling-side stacking unit includes twobundling-side stacking units for each of which a banknote-kind is set inadvance and one spare bundling-side stacking unit for which nobanknote-kind is set, and the drive control unit, when the number of thebundling-object-banknotes stacked in one of the bundling-side stackingunit reaches a predetermined number, sets the banknote-kind, that wasset for the bundling-side stacking unit in which the number of thebundling-object-banknotes has reached the predetermined number, for thespare bundling-side stacking unit, sets the bundling-side stacking unitin which the number of the bundling-object-banknotes has reached thepredetermined number as a spare bundling-side stacking unit, andcontrols the banknote transport unit and the diverting unit so that thebanknotes of the set banknote-kind that has reached the predeterminednumber are subsequently stacked in the bundling-side stacking unit forwhich the banknote-kind is set.
 8. The banknote sorting and bundlingapparatus according to claim 1, includes four sorting and stackingunits, three bundling-side stacking units, and one bundling unit.